“Ponkutsu Park” was filmed over an arduous two-day shoot in southeast Baltimore during August 2005.  Fort Armistead Park, a unique concrete structure that has become something of an exhibition hall for local graffiti artists, served as the location of principal photography.

The film is mostly comprised of non-professional talent, with the notable exception of Hari Leigh, who has also been featured in both John Waters’“A Dirty Shame” and Franz Ferdinand’s “Do You Want To” music video.  Ms. Leigh stars in the role of Officer Julie Ponce de Leon, the fish-out-of-water rookie cop who introduces us to the denizens of Ponkutsu Park.

Principal photography was calculated to coincide with Otakon, a Baltimore-based convention devoted to an obsession with Japanese pop culture.  Casting directors Anne Greene and Margaret Rose Szabo devoted themselves to the
task of finding good-humored otaku to participate with the production.

Martial-arts choreographer Simon Barrett has over seven years of experience in t’ai chi boxing, southern Shaolin, Five Families, Five Animals and Taoist Elixir style kung fu.  For him, providing the non-professional cast with a crash course in martial-arts presented both a unique opportunity and considerable challenge.

Leah Liu and Boson Au, who appear on-screen as Lim Shaw and Rolo Leung, collaborated with Slates on the film’s Cantonese and Mandarin dialogue.

Director of photography Tom Schnaidt was invaluable in rendering this silly storyline in the grand tradition of widescreen 35mm martial-arts cinematography with his fluid handheld and Steadicam photography.

Music by Korean pop supergroup Kim Chi provided the perfect accompaniment to the screwball antics on-screen.  You can learn more about Kim Chi by pointing your web browser to http://www.kimchirocks.com! 

Filmmaker Josh Slates is the writer and director of over twenty short films and videos.  His most recent film, “Exasperado,” was featured at the 2003 Maryland Film Festival.  He is also the editor of “Travels Through Elsewhere Cinema,” a continuing journal of foreign and cult cinema.